The best way to pay off £7k

Jbn1

I have £7600 on a Halifax credit card. I'll be super honest and say that APRs confuse me even though I'm a well educated 40 year old. I think it's 10.5%. Interest is around £67 a month and I pay £150 per month which is basically a few pounds above the minimum payment. I know doing this will take me a while to pay it off and will cost me more. I could pay slightly more but this would impact on the small amount of saving we have to cover unexpected costs like car parts, new washing machine and home improvements etc. 

I work part time/term time so not a huge wage, most of which goes on childcare at the moment. My partner is self employed and between us we earn enough to run the house/cars/kids etc. 

Would I be better getting a 0% balance transfer card with as small a fee as possible? I know I need to aim to pay the balance off before the 0% ends, and would still have to make the minimum payments on the money left on the Halifax card.

If this would be a good way to go, how much could I afford to move, so I'd pay it off and meet the minimum payment on the other card? Not knowing this is stopping me doing anything about it. 

Anyone's input with more experience and knowhow in this area would be appreciated. 

[Deleted User]

Jbn1 said:

I'll be super honest 

How honest is super honest, out of interest? Is it twice as much as honest?

If you can get a BT card, then you'd save on interest, so you would want to move as much of the interest bearing debt as possible.  There's no point in deliberately paying interest. But if you can't get sufficient limit, pay what you can, making min payment son the BT card and as much as you can on the Halifax.

However, given that you're making a little more than min payments currently, you may struggle to get the limit you need, particularly on a single card. So use an eligibility checker first to place your applications where you have the greatest chances. Don't decline anything you're offered.

Jbn1

I think super honest in this case, is an embarrassed to admit type of honest!

I'm worried about transferring too much across and then falling foul of the high interest I'd be charged once the 0% expires if there was still a lot in the new card.

[Deleted User]

You'll have made significant in-roads into the debt and the chances are that if you can get a BT offer now, when lending is particularly strict, you would hope to be able to do so again in a year or so. 

Keep your current card open, as Halifax are good with BT offers, especially if you have a zero balance.

Jbn1

Thank you. Appreciate your comments.

[Deleted User]

Just keep in mind paying interest now is much worse than making savings that won't accumulate interest. Beyond a safety net of 2-3 months income I'd be chucking as much as I could at the debt, whether on a BT card or cash.
If you can get a BT card, transfer what you can, pay the minimum and pay more towards the debt that is getting interest added so you clear more of it with the balance taking a big hit if you get a BT card